The present invention relates generally to clothing racks, and in particular, to a new and useful system comprising various subassembles that together form a highly versatile and portable rack structure for displaying clothing at shows and at points of sale.
The following U.S. patent classifications are believed relevant to the present invention:
The most pertinent patents are discussed in the following.
Also see Published Patent Application US 2001/0015535 A1 to Weck et al. which describes a cart with a rectangular base on four wheels and a U-shaped handle arising out of receptacles within the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,277 to Vienneau teaches a collapsible portable storage container comprising a rigid lower base with wheels, a peripheral frame and cross members, a support arising out of the base and comprising a telescoping support pole or member which can be extended out of the support, and swivel mounted arms connected to the support pole, adapted to rotate around a fixed axis on the swivel. The arms may have up-turned ends to hold clothing and equipment. Handles are mounted on the support and adapted to lock or release the telescoping support pole once it has been extended or shortened. A peripheral frame with a central cross member is also horizontally mounted on top of the support pole, and has a telescopic member that can extend away from the frame in a horizontal direction. A cover bag can be mounted over the entire frame of the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,202 to Weck et al. teaches a cart with a rectangular base on four wheels, a U-shaped handle arising out of receptacles within the base, and a metal hangar bar fixed between legs of the U-shaped handle having hooks adapted to carry household items. The U-shaped handle comprises two legs arising out of opposite receptacles of the base, which then connect to two arms that are bent toward the rear edge of the base, and are joined at the top by a tubular horizontal bar. Two different sets of receptacles on the base allow for the U-shaped handle to placed in two different positions with respect to the base.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,833 to Yeh discloses a clothes display rack comprising two horizontal supporting bars, side posts mounted to the supporting bars made of a connection board lying between two vertical posts, and a central rectangular display frame formed from vertical and horizontal bars, wherein the horizontal bars extend beyond the vertical bars and have hollow ends. Brackets horizontally project from the top and bottom of the side posts and can be inserted into the hollow ends of the horizontal bars of the display frame. Display panels, hangars, hooks, and shelves can be attached for hanging and storing a variety of articles. The display rack can also be attached to similar display racks via a central bore in a connection board end portion, through which a bolt and sleeve and can be threaded to receive a nut on the other side.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,303,938; 3,921,814 and 4,054,209 to Solomon disclose a variety of garment racks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,962 to Chen teaches a collapsible clothing rack, comprising two parallel and horizontal bars on wheels, a vertical member on each side supported by a horizontal bar, two rods that are pivotably interlocked and connected to the lower ends of the vertical members on each side, pistons slidably inserted within each vertical member and a top tube horizontally supported on the pistons with two extension rods adjustably fastened at opposite ends of the top tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,525 to Loebner discloses a collapsible rack comprising horizontal support bars on wheels, vertical support bars mounted on the horizontal bars, and horizontal hangar support bars mounted on top of and between the vertical support bars. When the horizontal hangar support is removed, the vertical support bars may be folded inward and the hangar support bar may then be secured to the horizontal bars for portable transport and storage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,272,345 to Wallace discloses a rack, comprising four vertical upright members on wheels and two tiers of shelves on the ends of the vertical members. The four vertical members contain horizontally aligned slots. The shelves have lugs at one end which can be inserted into the horizontally aligned slots, engaging and supporting the shelves on the vertical members on both sides of the rack.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 357,102 to Tate illustrates a dolly with a base or platform supported on four wheels, two vertical upright members on both sides of the dolly inserted into recesses within the top surface of the base, and horizontal bars between the vertical members on both sides of the dolly. Telescopic vertical members are also shown connected to the vertical upright members, and adjustable with a lock and release mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,916 to Enos teaches a shelving crossbar having a hook portion for insertion into a vertical slot in a post for supporting shelving and the crossbar. A retainer can be attached to the post at one end via a horizontal tab that can be inserted into a horizontal slot in the post. At the other end of the retainer, a screw hole is provided for accepting a screw to secure the body of the retainer to the crossbar that has been inserted into a vertical slot of the post.
A wide variety of racks and other display structures and attachments can be viewed by visiting the Internet wed site of OmahaFixture International. Their catalog titled xe2x80x9cThe Global Source for Retailersxe2x80x9d is also distributed periodically to the trade.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a rack system having one or, preferably, more than one collapsible presentation racks for transporting clothing to, and displaying clothing at trade shows. The system of the invention is easily collapsed into compact parts for storage and transport, and is equally easily expanded and assembled into a sturdy and movable system that can be configured and modularized to fit various trade show stall sizes, while maximizing display versatility.
The system of the invention preferably uses two or more unique racks of the invention. Each rack comprises a top bar, a pair of spaced apart, upper frames for supporting the top bar and a wheeled chassis with a pair of collapsible arms for supporting the upper frames.
The chassis comprises a base frame with the arms mounted to opposite ends of the base frame for folding from an inward, substantially horizontally stowed position, to an upwardly extending, substantially vertical support position. Two preferably hollow connecting members or legs connect each upper support frame to each arm of the rack.
The top bar is adjustable in width by having a central horizontal bar with smaller inner horizontal pull-out bars that extend out from both ends of the central bar. The top bar also has support studs that extend vertically downwardly from the central bar, into engagement with upper central openings of the upper frames, to fix the spacing between the upper frames, and hold the rack in a firm, upstanding configuration for use.
The upper frames are constructed of square hollow tubing, and each have at least two, opposite upright members with vertical rows of spaced support holes, e.g. so-called xe2x80x9cstandard slots,xe2x80x9d on three specific sides of the tubing. The sides selected for the slots are the inwardly facing sides facing the other upper frame of the same rack, the outwardly facing sides facing either to the left or right of the rack, and the front or rear sides facing either the front or the rear of the rack. The sides of the upright members facing each other on the same upper frame are free of support slots.
One great advantage of the invention is that two racks can be connected to each other by an additional spanning member, such as a hanging rod, connected by suitable hooks at the opposite ends of the hanging rod, to the slots on the outwardly facing sides of the racks. In this way the space between the racks is also used for displaying merchandise, e.g. for hanging clothing to be displayed.
Accordingly, another object of the invention is to provide a clothing rack assembly and system having two or more racks each with a chassis and a pair foldable arms. A pair of support frames are detachably connected to the arms and each includes a pair of upright members made of hollow square tubing. Three sides of the tubing have a line of support holes for supporting hooks of an accessory. The accessory is preferably a hanging rod for connecting two of the racks together, and for displaying hanging merchandise in the space between the racks.
The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses, reference is made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated.